Verizon Wireless filed a lawsuit against Florida-based Global Information Group, alleging that the company used deceptive and fraudulent practices to attempt to obtain information about Verizon Wireless subscribers. It said Wednesday that it had obtained a temporary injunction against the company.

Verizon claims that Global Information Group in Temple Terrace, Fla., made “thousands of attempts” to gather information about Verizon Wireless customers, the New York-based phone company said in a written statement.

The suit, filed Nov. 2 in a Florida state court, claims the agency “impersonated” employees of Bedminster, N.J.-based Verizon Wireless, the company said. Verizon said the court issued an order last week that temporarily prohibits Global Information from trying to contact Verizon’s customers or providing customer information to third parties.

“Global Information Group is cooperating with Verizon and complying with the terms of the lawsuit,” Global Information spokeswoman Allyson Von Holten said in a telephone interview. “They are absolutely investigating the claims made against them by Verizon.”

The company is a so-called skip-tracing firm hired by companies to find people who have “skipped out on loans and debt,” Von Holten said. “This is not a data-mining company. It is a legitimate business.” — Bloomberg News

Verizon Wireless also won an injunction against a Tennessee company this summer for the same thing.

Earlier this summer, Verizon Wireless sued Cookeville, Tenn.-based Source Resources Inc., in New Jersey State Superior Court in Somerset County, N.J., seeking among other things an injunction barring Source Resources from acquiring, possessing or selling confidential Verizon Wireless customer account information without a valid court order or the customer’s express consent.

Superior Court Judge Harriet Derman ordered a permanent injunction against Source Resources Tuesday as part of a settlement between Verizon Wireless and the company. Source Resources also agreed to cooperate with Verizon Wireless by surrendering records of its transactions and information about how it previously obtained customer records. — Phone Watch

I’m glad to see Verizon Wireless aggressively pursue this type of activity. It makes me more confident that they are taking all the steps they possibly can to protect their subscribers’ information from misuse.